SIALKOT, Aug 3: The district government has urged the federal and provincial governments to allow the country's all export-oriented industries to formulate trade policies for their respective industries under the government framework , enabling them to compete with the developed and developing countries to meet the WTO challenges.

This was said by district Nazim Mian Naeem Javaid while speaking at a workshop on 'trade remedial measures under WTO and implications for Pakistan' held here on Tuesday at Sialkot chamber of commerce and industry under the auspices of WTO cell of the Punjab planning and development department.

The Nazim said under the WTO regime it had become vital to allow every export-oriented industry to frame its own trade and export policy under the government. He said it was the basic right of the export industries to evolve their policies instead of the government. He said the industries could survive only through this way under the WTO regime.

Mr Javaid urged the government to immediately establish trade courts in the country for resolving disputes. He demanded the government allow importers to import the hi-tech machinery by shelving all related duties and removing hurdles in this regard.

He said the local industries were ready to cope with the WTO challenges. Speaking at the workshop, planning and development board member Mrs Rafia Nazir said the government had started implementation on a comprehensive programme for providing complete awareness about WTO to exporters, industrialists and manufacturers, besides establishing special WTO cells in fisheries, industries, agriculture, livestock and forest departments.

She said Pakistan's domestic industry faced problems of increased imports and 'unfair practices' under the global trade regime. Mrs Rafia Nazir said the WTO agreements had an in-built mechanism providing for remedial measures to counteract the effects of these problems.

DCO Syed Tahir Raza Naqvi, acting SCCI president Zahid Latif Malik, Lahore EPB director Asif Ghafoor and WTO consultants Majid Ali Wajid and Dr Ajmal also addressed the workshop.